Léo Marjane - Bei Dir war es immer so schön / Sans toi... (1942)

The record I lost finally returned to me on a grey saturday morning at the flea market... Léo Marjane brings her version of the 1941 classic song "Bei Dir war es immer so schön" (Life was so beautiful at your side), from the musical comedy "Anita und der Teufel" and originally sung by Rosita Serrano.

This French version , called "Sans toi, je n'ai plus rien" (Without you, I have nothing left) was recorded in 1942. Léo Marjane, the French female crooner par excellence, makes the song completely her own and delivers it in a style very different from Rosita Serrano's.

"Amorcito Mio", another song from "Anita und der Teufel" was recorded in French by none other than Tino Rossi, ca. 1944.

Léo Marjane was without doubt one of the finest and most popular singers of the late 1930's...She combined the French language with elegant orchestrations by Wal-Berg and Raymond Legrand. For "Disque Gramophone/La Voix de son Maître" she recorded original French songs and popular American songs. During the war her popularity grew even bigger after recording "Seule ce soir" (All alone tonight), touching the hearts and minds of women and men separated by war and misery (one might say that "Bei Dir war es immer so schön" is its German counterpart).

She recorded many songs that became extremely popular, such as "Attends-moi mon amour", "Mon ange", "Le refrain de la pluie" and many more. Even during the occupation she recorded songs borrowed from the American repertory ('Divine Biguine/Begin the Beguine"; "L'arc-en-ciel/Over the rainbow"). During the German occupation she opened her own (very popular) cabaret and also performed for French voluntary workers (going to work in Germany). After France was liberated she encountered serious problems. She stood accused of collaboration and had to appear before a "comité d'épuration" (Purification Commission). This stopped her career dead in its tracks. She was allowed to resume her career, now under contract to the Decca recording label. However she never really re-established herself. She recorded the popular songs of the day "Mademoiselle Hortesia", "Clopint Clopant", "Bresil(Brazil)" and so on but these were very different from her original elegant style... She finally married a noble man and retired from the stage and became a succesful horse breeder.

About the record :

Disque Gramophone/La Voix de son Maître (His Master's Voice) : K8580/OLA3834

This record certainly has its challenges : a wobble at the beginning, whistling near the end and quite a lot of surface noise. However I really wanted to present this song.

Sound equipment used :

Shure M78S mono cartridge & stylus
Turntable : Stanton T.90
TerraTec 78RPM Phono Pre-amp

Record transferred without intervention/cleaning effects.

About the video :

The video shows Léo Marjane singing, combined with images of the outbreak of the Second World War, the occupation of Paris and a bombing raid. The sheet music of "Sans toi, je n'ai plus rien" is from my personal collection.

This video is also offered in HD. However whether this function works will depend on your Internet connection and the abilities of your computer (your screen may freeze).

For the German version by Rosita Serrano from 1941:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcMlRsE8JXw

For other songs by Leo Marjane from my channel :
-En septembre sous la pluie/September in the rain, 1937 :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lau16MgxCpw

- Mon coeur est léger, 1940
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgq7RK7ENKE

Enjoy

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Léo
• Marjane
• 78rpm
• Bei
• Dir
• war
• es
• immer
• so
• schön
• Rosita
• Serrano
• Theo
• Mackeben
• 1942
• Paris
• Berlin
• disque
• 78tours
• Seconde
• Guerre
• Mondiale
• Zweiter
• Weltkrieg
• 1939-1945
• Sans
• toi
• je
• n'ai
• plus
• rien

[formiggini]

... habe ich schonmal für deine tollen Beschreibungen und die Arbeit die du dir machst danke gesagt - na gut, dann jetzt! 5*****

[Leotaurus1975]

Da kann ich nur ganz bescheiden Danke Schön sagen!

[dairyman716]

Bei Dir ist es immer so schön . . .

...die musikalische Auswahl, als auch die Umsetztung in das Video, ist wie immer perfekt.

[Leotaurus1975]

Danke Hendrik!

[bluexxg]

on dit que la baronne de la Doucette etait en verite allemande ce la cause de sa active collaboration avec les fritzs

[TomiU99]

Ich kann Sie nicht genug Hören !!!

Fantastisch Schön !!

Danke für diese Song !!

[TomiU99]

Fantastisch schöne Stimme !!

Ich kann Sie nicht genug hören !!

DANKE für dieses Lied !!!

[AlexWantsToHaveFun]

Lieber Leotaurus1975, vielen Dank für dieses herrliche Konto. Alle Versionen (Léo Marjane, Rosita Serrano, Lizzi Waldmüller und Kurt Wege sind wunderschön..und stimmen sehr melancholisch! Dieser Hit war ein großer Wurf und kriecht einem heute noch durch das Ohr direkt in die Seele!

[luxemburgo221]

Auch auf französisch schön!

[bobinobaker]

Brilliant !!!!

[formiggini]

Bitte dein Licht nicht unter scheffel stellen - dafür ist es bei dir zu schön!

Grüße Formiggini .... :)

[scala78]

it's first time I hear this song in french. Very nice. Thank you